Fluid-motor.



L. E. FISH.

FLUID MOTOR. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1-911,

Patented May 7, 1912.

2 SEBE'I'SSHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANODRAPH 00.. WASHINGTON. n. c.

' L. E. FISH. FLUID MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1911.

1,025,6 1 8. Patented May 7, 1912.

I I I?" V ua I.

35 ||i 42 5a A? I 9 fiz WA M g 5 0 I \fi 36 N Q's? Q19 45 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEANDER E. FISH, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

FLUID-MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May *7, 1912.

Application filed September 25, 1911. Serial No. 651,286.

two relatively rotary elements to cause relav tive rotation between the same. 1

Objects of the invention are; to provide a simple and effective rotary engine; to obtain the economy of a compound expansion engine with single expansion; to utilize the power of an expansive medium by directly expanding the medium from full pressure to atmospheric pressure at one operation; to fully utilize the expansive medium ex pansively without communication between,

the expanding medium and the source of such medium so that the expansive use of the medium is at once completed, from full pressure to atmospheric pressure; to utilize the entire expansive force with minimum waste and without transference from chamber to chamber as with previous compound engines; and to provide a rotary engine of maximum economy of expansive fluid.

Other objects are automatic governing, and simplicity of construction.

The invention is applicable for the use of steam, compressed air and gas and also for the use of an explosive medium inside the expansion chamber.

An object of the invention is to provide a rotary internal combustion engine in which the force from the combustion or ex plosion is practically all utilized.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the internal combustion can be more perfectly regulated than with any other engine, and whereby each explosion is produced from uniform mixture under uniform pressure regardlessv of the load and the number of explosions per minute. This object is attained by means whereby explosions in a plurality of expansion chambers or receivers are successively cut in and out according to load; the principle being that if less power than that produced by all of the chambers is required, one or more of the chambers may be cut out to reduce the power in accordance with the requirements; and may be cut in again as the power demand increases. By this means each explosion is produced from uniform mixture under uniform pressure regardless of the load and the number of explosion chambers in operation.

A further object is to provide an engine which will be equally applicable with slight additions or subtractions for use with steam, with compressed air or with fuel or explosive, applied for internal combustion.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section on line m Fig. 4:, transverse to the axis of rotation and in the axial plane of the receivers or explosion chambers and their discharge nozzles. Fig. 2 is an axial. section of one of the charge receivers taken on line m Figs. 1 and 3, looking upward in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a detachable view from line 00 Fig. 1, showing the nozzle end of one of the charge receivers. Fig. 4. is an elevation in section on irregular line 05 Fig. 1, looking toward the left in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 5 is a View of the four governor levers of differ ent lengths for the four-cylinder engine shown. Said levers are detached and are shown as though viewed from one side of the engine when the receivers are in the position shown in Fig. 1.

The hollow ported shaft 1 and the cylindrical case 2 are stationary, the case in the instance shown being provided with a base 3 which forms the support for the engine. Said shaft is fixed by a cap 4 on a standard 5 fixed to the flange 6 of the base. The shaft 1 has a bore 7 for connection with a source, not shown, of fluid medium under pressure; and said bore communicates with one or more ports 7 which extend through a phosphor bronze sleeve 8 that is fixed to the shaft and ported to correspond with the port or ports of the shaft. In the drawings the shaft is shown as being provided with two ports. Outside the phosphor bronze sleeve is journaled the hollow rotor shaft 9 having ports 10 and seats 11 for chambers 12 that form the charge receivers and that "are fastened on said seats by suitable means as studs and nuts 13 and are provided with ports 14: that communicate with the ports 10. The receivers are provided with valved nozzles 15, the valve seats 16 of which are controlled by balanced valves 17 each having a valve head 18 and a balance head 19 one face of which is inside its receiver, and valve rod '20 operably connected with a valve lever 21. The balance head 19 of the valve works in a cylinder 22 which is open to the atmosphere andprot'ects the outer end of said balance head against pressure from inside the receiver 12. Any desired number of receivers may be provided on the hollow rotary shaft 9. Outside the receivers is the reaction ring 23 fixed to or formed with the case and provided with transverse abutments 24 with pockets or errations between to receive the discharge from the nozzles. v Outside the reaction ring the case is provided with a cooling chamber 25 which may be supplied with a cooling mediunras air or water by any suitable means. The case may be wholly open on one side and the rotor may be provided with tan-like fins or wings 26 arranged to draw in air from the front and force the same out together with the exhaust medium at the rear. The valve levers 21 are pivoted to the receivers 12 by pivots 27 and the free ends of said levers project outward beyond the path of the receivers to contact with cams 28.

Each balanced valve is normally held closed by the valve return spring 29 and is opened against the pressure of said spring whenever the valve lever comes into contact with one of the cam rails 30; and is held open during the contact of the lever with said cam rail that extends over an are through which the point of the lever must travel during a portion of each revolution.

The means to open and close the nozzles and means for supplying the fluid medium to the receivers are intermittent in their action and operate in succession relative to each other, so that there is not at any time any opening through the apparatus from the boiler or other pressure source to the atmosphere. When the valve is open the expansive medium inside the receiver is released and allowed to discharge through the nozzle against the abutments of the reaction ring 23, thus causing the receivers to revolve, thereby rotating the rotor shaft 9 from which the power may be taken by any suitable means.

The cams 28 are pivoted to the periphery of the case 2 by pivots 31 and their inner ends are engaged in the groove 33 of the grooved sliding sleeve 32 journaled on and slidable along the hollow rotor shaft 9 and also having grooves 34 in which the inner ends of the bell crank levers 35 engage. Said bell crank levers are pivoted at 36 to the fly-wheel 37 that is fixed to and rotates with the shaft 9 and is connected with the usual governor weights and springs 4-0, ll,

so that as the speed ineijeasesthe cani ail forced awajyn from and as it decreases is forced toward the transverse planes in which the ends of the valve levers extend; Said valve levers are of unequal lengths so that "while all of such levers normally contact with the cam rail at eachrevolution they may one by one be freed from such contact as the cam rail recedes from the rotor, and vice versa. v v

The hollow rotary shaft 9 is rotatable on the bronze bushing and extends on both sides of the case 2 and isjournal'cd in a box on the standard 43. The fly-wheel 37 and the power wheel 44 arc flxed to thehollow rotary shaft 9 on opposite sides of the case.

Tapped holes 45 areprovided in the sides of the receivers 12 for spark plugs, not shown, in case the motor is to be applied as an internal combustion 'engine. Said holes are closed by plugs 46 to fit the engine to operate with such an expansive medium as steam or compressed air. I A

here the engine is designed for internal combustion it is deemed advisable to employ only a single port 7, so that each receiver will get only a single charge of expansive mixture at each revolution. In that case the engine shown would have four expansions at each revolution. lVhen two ports in the fixed hollow shaft 1 are provided, eight impulses are given at each revolution. Vith such construction a larger quantity of cooling medium would be required to pass through the chamber 25, also less time would be given for the expansion from each receiver.

The nozzles are laterally widened and peripherally narrow and practically fit between the walls 47 at the sides of the abutments 24, so that the discharge of motive fluid through the nozzle is effective on the pockets or abutments one at a time and as soon as the nozzle has passed a pocket into which the fluid is projected, said fluid escapes by expansion from the pocket to the space inside the ring which communicates through the exhaust pipe 46 with the external air.

It is thus seen that the rotor is provided with a receiver and that means are provided whereby, as the receiver revolves the inlet to the receiver and the nozzle to discharge from the receiver are alternately opened and closed, so that the valved nozzle is open only when communication with the hollow shaft is closed, and that only when the valved nozzle is closed the communication with the hollow shaft is open; that the lever which controls the valve is pivotally connected to the rotor and contacts with the cam to hold the valve open only during the time that the port into the receiver is closed or during that portion of such time within the judgment of the constructor which is suflicient to allow the charge within the receiver to expend its force through the nozzle.

I claim 1 A rotary motor comprising a fixed hollow ported shaft, a hollow rotor shaft journaled on the ported shaft and provided with one or more receivers having nozzles, valves for said nozzles, and means to open and close the valves as the rotor rotates.

2. The combination with a hollow ported fixed shaft, of a ported hollow rotor shaft journaled thereon, receivers fastened on said rotor shaft to receive fluid medium from the fixed shaft, said receivers being provided with nozzles, valves for the nozzles and means to open the nozzle valves when communication between the hollow shaft and the receiver is closed.

3. The combination with a hollow shaft, of a rotor provided with a receiver having a nozzle, said rotor and shaft being provided with ports to establish and cut off communication between the hollow shaft and the receiver, a valve for the nozzle and valve operating means to open the nozzle when the port into the receiver is closed and to close the nozzle when said port is open.

4. The combination with a hollow shaft of a rotor provided with a receiver having a nozzle, said rotor and shaft being provided with ports to establish and cut off communication between the hollow shaft and the receiver, a valve for the nozzle, means to open the nozzle valve when the port intothe receiver is closed and to close the valve when said port is open, a lever pivotally connected with the rotor and connected with the valve, and a cam to hold the lever in valve opening position when communication between the hollow shaft and the receiver is closed and to close the valve when such communication is opened.

5. In a rotary engine a rotor provided with a receiver having a nozzle, a valve to control said nozzle, a lever pivotally connected with the rotor tooperate said valve, and a cam to actuate the lever as the rotor rotates.

6. A rotary engine comprising a reaction ring having pockets, a rotor provided with receivers to discharge into said pockets, means to supply motive fluid to the receivers, means to discharge said fluid from said receivers into said pockets, and means whereby the fluid discharging means may be made inactive.

7. In a rotary engine the combination with a rotor provided with a receiver having a nozzle, of a valve to control said nozzle, a lever pivotally connected with the rotor to operate said valve, a cam to actuate the lever as the rotor rotates, and means to move the cam toward and from the lever.

8. The combination with a hollow ported fixed shaft, of a hollow ported rotor shaft thereon, a rotor fixed to the rotor shaft and comprising receivers communicating respectively with the ports of the rotor shaft, said receivers being provided with nozzles, valves for said nozzles respectively, levers pivotally connected with the rotor to operate the valves, movable cam means to move the levers to open and close the valves, a collar slidable on the rotor shaft and provided with annular grooves to engage said cam means and governor means to move the collar along the shaft into and out of the path of the levers, said levers being of different lengths so that the levers will be suc-' cessively brought into and out of action as the cam means are moved.

9. In a rotary motor a shaft, a receiver mounted to revolve on said shaft and having a laterally widened nozzle at one end, a valved seat at the inner end of the nozzle, a cylinder communicating with the atmosphere at the opposite end of the receiver, a valve in said valved seat and provided with a balanced head in said cylinder and means to move the valve, and means to make such discharge intermittent.

10. A rotary motor provided with receiv ers; a shaft upon which the receivers are mounted to revolve; means to successively supply motive fluid to the receivers, said receivers being provided with nozzles; valves to control said nozzles; levers of different lengths for the valves respectively; and cam means to be moved into and out of contact with said levers successively for the purpose of alternately permitting and preventing escape of the motive fluid through the nozzles respectively.

11. In a rotary motor a receiver terminating at one end with a widened nozzle and provided at the other end with a cylinder open to the atmosphere, a valve to close the nozzle and provided with a balance head in said cylinder, a spring to close the valve and governor means to open the valve against the force of the spring.

12. The combination with a revolving receiver provided with a nozzle, of means to supply motive fluid to the receiver, a valve provided with a valve head and with a balance head, said valve head being arranged to close the nozzle, a cylinder to protect the balance head from the pressure of the contents of the receiver, said cylinder being open to the atmosphere, and means. to move the valve in the receiver.

13. In arotary motor the combination my hand at Los Angeles, California, this With a revolving receiver having an outlet, 20th day of August, 1911. of a Valve to close the outlet a lever in pivotal relation to the receiver to operate the LEANDER FISH 5 valve, and stationary means to actuate the In presence of lever. JAMES R. TOWNSEND,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set L. BELLE RICE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissiqnfil Q r Batis a Washington, D. 0" 

